Yeah, you'll get there. Looking forward to seeing the progress 
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Continuing 72 Blazer build
- Thread starter IRIECHEFDEEZY
- Start date
Check out the first part of my build thread for help with rust repair.
You are going to need to do all of the same areas that I did on my truck, so you can study those to figure out what metal to order and which steps to do first.
I'd leave the hardtop on until the rust repair is complete, and I'd still brace the door openings too just to be sure you don't build a permanent sag into that area with the rust repair.
-G
The biggest mistake I made on my '73 was trying to patch panels that were too far gone. Decide what you want the end product to look like (wheeler/driver/resto) and find out how far the serious rust has made it. Making a whole bunch of little patches when one big one would have been the better route is very frustrating.
Recently have been spending a lot of time/ money outfitting the new garage. Built a workbench, put up some 8' hi output work lights, 30 gal compressor and a bunch of air tools.
Want to have the drivetrain back under her this summer. Then start on the rust which fills me with anticipation and dread simultaneously.
Gonna start looking for more parts for the build. Have questions about LMCs replacement fuel tank? Any good or find a different supplier, and where can i find decent sheet metal, quarters, floors, rockers, rockerboxs, etc? have read a few builds on here, but most are a few years old and I cant find a correct link or any good repros online. Ive read to stay away from LMCs sheet metal. What other places still have the metal i need to fix the rust?
Want to have the drivetrain back under her this summer. Then start on the rust which fills me with anticipation and dread simultaneously.
Gonna start looking for more parts for the build. Have questions about LMCs replacement fuel tank? Any good or find a different supplier, and where can i find decent sheet metal, quarters, floors, rockers, rockerboxs, etc? have read a few builds on here, but most are a few years old and I cant find a correct link or any good repros online. Ive read to stay away from LMCs sheet metal. What other places still have the metal i need to fix the rust?
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GMCPauls would be a good source.... he supports the community and carries good quality reproduction sheetmetal.
ClassicHeartBeat is another one. They make a few of the hard-to-find reproduction parts too (like the inner b-pillar lowers) that always seem to need replacing.
-G
ClassicHeartBeat is another one. They make a few of the hard-to-find reproduction parts too (like the inner b-pillar lowers) that always seem to need replacing.
-G
Start of Abomb instalation
New parts have arrived!
To start we have an a bomb bumper center custom made by Kert at diy4x
This will be a picece of hardware we build off of, so a lot will be going into making this piece work exactly how we want it to.
For those not familiar with the a bomb it integrates your front spring hangers and body mounts into a one piece bumper center section.
So we start off by popping the factory grille. This will most likely become a wall hanger because the a bomb will definitely require trimming the grille, and cutting up an oem grille is not an option. We'll either get a repro to cut up or see how close we'll be after the 1" body lift.
A test fit has us in the right neighborhood right off the bat. The truck had the original front frame horns more or less. There was some damage to the bumper mounting holes in the front, more than likely from whatever claimed the oem front bumper. The horns were hitting on the bottom so I basically just cut down from the damaged mounting holes on the frame at a 45* to allow the a bomb to seat up fully.
New parts have arrived!
To start we have an a bomb bumper center custom made by Kert at diy4x
This will be a picece of hardware we build off of, so a lot will be going into making this piece work exactly how we want it to.
For those not familiar with the a bomb it integrates your front spring hangers and body mounts into a one piece bumper center section.
So we start off by popping the factory grille. This will most likely become a wall hanger because the a bomb will definitely require trimming the grille, and cutting up an oem grille is not an option. We'll either get a repro to cut up or see how close we'll be after the 1" body lift.
A test fit has us in the right neighborhood right off the bat. The truck had the original front frame horns more or less. There was some damage to the bumper mounting holes in the front, more than likely from whatever claimed the oem front bumper. The horns were hitting on the bottom so I basically just cut down from the damaged mounting holes on the frame at a 45* to allow the a bomb to seat up fully.
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With the frame trimmed we could get the a bomb seated fully up but not back far enough. We knew clearances on the steering box would be close but we still weren't as close as we needed.
The issue ended up being the frame gradually thickening up on the outside of the frame rail near the steering box. With a 1/2" trimmed off the rear or the a bomb she slid back right into position.
We still have some final fitting to do before making our mounting holes. Then it will be a final test fit before sending it off to powder coat.
The issue ended up being the frame gradually thickening up on the outside of the frame rail near the steering box. With a 1/2" trimmed off the rear or the a bomb she slid back right into position.
We still have some final fitting to do before making our mounting holes. Then it will be a final test fit before sending it off to powder coat.
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Here you can see some clearances. There's still 1/8" between the steering box and the mount. There's enough clearance for the steering arm to turn but it's probably getting a hi steer /hydro assist anyway so we're not too worried about that now.
In the last pic you can see the piece of the frame I cut off on the floor in between the a bomb and the core support. We used a ratchet strap to pull in on the rails enough to slide the a bomb on and off easily. This helps tremendously when doing our mock ups. Otherwise we would have pounded it to death taking it on and off.
In the last pic you can see the piece of the frame I cut off on the floor in between the a bomb and the core support. We used a ratchet strap to pull in on the rails enough to slide the a bomb on and off easily. This helps tremendously when doing our mock ups. Otherwise we would have pounded it to death taking it on and off.
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Not much to report over the holiday weekend except burning through a few bits drilling holes in our bumper center section.
After lining up our index marks and center punching the holes in the frame rails we started drilling. 10 mounting holes on each side. This is more time consuming than it sounds. I think we finished all the 1/2" holes and only had 3 or 4 more of the 9/16". All grade 8 hardware of course.
While we waited for the drill motors to cool down we started looking over the d60 and tanking inventory of what it's going to take to get it rolling after we get it in.
I hope it will fit in the garage with a 52" 8" lift spring
Hopefully drop the a bomb for powder coat on Monday
After lining up our index marks and center punching the holes in the frame rails we started drilling. 10 mounting holes on each side. This is more time consuming than it sounds. I think we finished all the 1/2" holes and only had 3 or 4 more of the 9/16". All grade 8 hardware of course.
While we waited for the drill motors to cool down we started looking over the d60 and tanking inventory of what it's going to take to get it rolling after we get it in.
I hope it will fit in the garage with a 52" 8" lift spring
Hopefully drop the a bomb for powder coat on Monday
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The abomb is back from powdercoat and fully mounted. Kert really did an amazing job with this thing. The guys at the powdercoat shop loved it!
The rest of the truck looks really crappy with this shiny new bad ass bumper on there! Gotta get it rolling so we can run into a tree or a Prius or something.
We are so ready to tear into this thing and get some body work done. Gotta get a good roller we can work under and move around a bit first though.
We ended up deciding on a full hydro steering setup so the steering box will be going away soon.
The rest of the truck looks really crappy with this shiny new bad ass bumper on there! Gotta get it rolling so we can run into a tree or a Prius or something.
We are so ready to tear into this thing and get some body work done. Gotta get a good roller we can work under and move around a bit first though.
We ended up deciding on a full hydro steering setup so the steering box will be going away soon.
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Some Dana 60 progress
Got the srw hubs we needed. These came with rotors and studs. We pulled the bearings from the drws and got some new seals on order. It's really tempting to put these on but it's freaking heavy when it's dressed out, and we'll be moving it around a bit more while we're setting the suspension up.
Grade 8 hardware is as beautiful as it is expensive.
Got the srw hubs we needed. These came with rotors and studs. We pulled the bearings from the drws and got some new seals on order. It's really tempting to put these on but it's freaking heavy when it's dressed out, and we'll be moving it around a bit more while we're setting the suspension up.
Grade 8 hardware is as beautiful as it is expensive.
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We scored some new rollers (all 4 the same size!) and some stock 52s from the junkyard.
We're going to get some low profile tires put on the rollers to get as much garage clearance as we can. If it goes too much taller on the b52 swap we won't be able to get it under the garage door!
Those 52s were a little crusty but they'll work for mockup. We're thinking we got around 4" from the shackle flip and the 52 swap should yield around the same, so 8" lift 52s all the way around will give us the 12" we need. We can always fine tune the height with shims/shackles/ez inch. Gotta love leaf springs!
The plan is to run 44 boggers. Might have to buy one or two to see how we'll be on fitment but we really need to knock out this bodywork first.
We're going to get some low profile tires put on the rollers to get as much garage clearance as we can. If it goes too much taller on the b52 swap we won't be able to get it under the garage door!
Those 52s were a little crusty but they'll work for mockup. We're thinking we got around 4" from the shackle flip and the 52 swap should yield around the same, so 8" lift 52s all the way around will give us the 12" we need. We can always fine tune the height with shims/shackles/ez inch. Gotta love leaf springs!
The plan is to run 44 boggers. Might have to buy one or two to see how we'll be on fitment but we really need to knock out this bodywork first.
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If you have a Tractor Supply near you, buy your grade 8 stuff there. They sell hardware by the pound...way cheaper than any other method I've seen.
To finish off our 52" front spring swap we had to move the front spring shackle hanger. This is pretty much a must on a first gen due to the large spread between the stockers and 52s
We used as many of the factory holes as we could. We used the rear hole of the original mounting location as our guide and made templates for the new 2" hole.
Also required is trimming of the front of the cab mount. We used the bottom rivet hole on the body mount as our other alignment point.
We used as many of the factory holes as we could. We used the rear hole of the original mounting location as our guide and made templates for the new 2" hole.
Also required is trimming of the front of the cab mount. We used the bottom rivet hole on the body mount as our other alignment point.
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52 inch springs installed up front. These are as soft as advertised. They flattened out quite a bit with the weight of the truck on them. We used 6" shackles.
We're thinking that 8" lift 52s will be a good bit stiffer than stockers so we won't have to worry quite as much about over travel. We're still planning on a shock hoop of some kind.
We're thinking that 8" lift 52s will be a good bit stiffer than stockers so we won't have to worry quite as much about over travel. We're still planning on a shock hoop of some kind.
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Had to sit back and admire a little bit. The 60 probably has to come back out for some more welding for shock tabs and a ram mount but it was nice to see it under there for the first time.
We still need to sort out the steering and find some calipers and lines for the front but we're really close to having her rolling.
We still need to sort out the steering and find some calipers and lines for the front but we're really close to having her rolling.
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Looking like a nice build. Stay after it man.
Thanks for the comments guys. We definitely appreciate everything here on ck5. This place is a great resource. Love looking at everyone's rigs for inspiration
This is a big day for the truck. First time totally off jack stands in four months and first time out of the garage in almost a year
All that was left was was assembling the hubs and putting on the rollers
This is a big day for the truck. First time totally off jack stands in four months and first time out of the garage in almost a year
All that was left was was assembling the hubs and putting on the rollers
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rebuilding the Dana 60 and getting the old girl back on her feet.
New parts go together like 
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